Xue Changrong gave an embarrassed smile and said, "No need, we have experts in our shop. I'll have him come over shortly to examine these porcelain pieces one by one."
"Moreover, our shop has a rule: if a fake is found, only one item can be chosen. Even if you find more, you can only pick one."
Chen Fan looked disappointed upon hearing this. "Alas, I was hoping to make tens of millions today. Who knew I could only pick one item."
Xue Changrong's eyes twitched involuntarily. Chen Fan's words implied that there weren't many genuine items in his Zhenbao Pavilion!
Chen Fan looked at Qin Shuran and boasted, "It seems my luck is truly good. I didn't expect to come to this antique street and get something good for free."
Qin Shuran was speechless.
Chen Fan looked at the porcelain pieces on display, held his breath, and began to choose.
After a while, Chen Fan shook his head in disappointment because he found that except for a few pieces from the Republic of China era, all the other porcelain items had problems.
He then moved to the calligraphy and painting section. Chen Fan searched online for methods to appraise the authenticity of calligraphy and paintings, and was once again disappointed.
He even muttered, "What kind of Zhenbao Pavilion is this? It's simply a Fake Treasure Pavilion!"
Xue Changrong, who was following behind, heard this. His expression twitched again, and he wished he could grind Chen Fan into dust right now.
He knew that quite a few people were gathered around, and Chen Fan was publicly humiliating him!
And he couldn't say anything because he knew this young man was not simple. The act of taking out his phone to search might have been a pretense; he was likely a treasure appraiser himself.
Otherwise, how could he have detected that the Song Dynasty Ru ware blue-glazed gold-painted赏瓶 (shǎng píng -賞瓶) was a fake!
He was now afraid that if he argued with Chen Fan again, Chen Fan might expose the authenticity of his calligraphy and paintings, and then his shop would truly have to close down.
"Ahem, young man, hurry up and choose. We still have business to do," Xue Changrong urged.
All he wanted now was for Chen Fan to quickly pick something and leave.
Chen Fan shook his head in disappointment and ignored Xue Changrong, moving to the bronze ware area.
Still looking disappointed, Chen Fan and Qin Shuran went to a nearby rest area.
Xue Changrong picked up the teapot and poured tea for Chen Fan and Qin Shuran, asking, "How are your appraisals going? Rest assured, no matter which item you fancy, I, Xue, will gift it to you both!"
Xue Changrong spoke loudly, as if deliberately making sure everyone could hear.
"I didn't expect Boss Xue to be a man of his word. Such an honest boss is truly rare."
"That's right. I knew Boss Xue must have been deceived, otherwise, why would he let that young man pick anything he wanted in the shop?"
"It seems we've misunderstood Boss Xue. There aren't many antique shops as honest as this. I'll come to Zhenbao Pavilion to buy things from now on!"
"Me too. We must strongly support someone as honest as Boss Xue!"
Hearing the discussions from the surrounding crowd, Xue Changrong finally showed a smile. The goal he wanted to achieve had finally been reached.
However, Xue Changrong didn't notice that Chen Fan, who was drinking tea, suddenly fixed his gaze on the purple clay teapot shaped like a pumpkin in Xue Changrong's hand.
Holding his breath, Chen Fan looked at the pumpkin-shaped pot in front of him. He then discovered that on the bottom inside the pot, there was a seal inscribed with the characters "Chen Ziqi."
Chen Ziqi?
Chen Fan found the name very familiar. He seemed to have seen it somewhere before.
After a moment of thought, Chen Fan remembered. He had once seen it on a purple clay teapot in his grandmother's study. His grandmother had told him that Chen Ziqi was an ancestor of their Chen family, a renowned purple clay teapot master from the Ming Dynasty. His most famous work was a purple clay teapot called the Pumpkin Pot, said to be worth over a hundred million yuan.
The purple clay teapot in their home was also a family heirloom.
Chen Fan held his breath again and carefully examined the characters "Chen Ziqi" inside the pumpkin pot. Chen Fan was shocked to find that these three characters were exactly the same as the seal on the purple clay teapot in his home.
Chen Fan's face immediately broke into a bright smile as he looked at Xue Changrong. "Boss Xue truly lives up to his word. You have indeed earned my admiration."
Xue Changrong smiled and said nothing. Coupled with Chen Fan's words, Xue Changrong was confident that not only would he not lose money this time, but he might even profit significantly after this reputation for honesty spread.
Chen Fan asked again, "Boss Xue, I can choose one item from everything in this shop, right?"
Xue Changrong nodded. "That's right, you can choose anything."
He actually didn't care much, because the most valuable antiques in his shop were only worth tens of thousands of yuan, which was insignificant to him.
But what Xue Changrong never expected was that Chen Fan reached out and took the pumpkin-shaped purple clay teapot he had just put down.
Immediately, Xue Changrong's face turned extremely grim. He couldn't help but swallow, watching Chen Fan nervously, wondering if Chen Fan would just pour tea.
But Xue Changrong was overthinking. Chen Fan examined the pumpkin pot for a moment and smiled, saying, "Boss Xue, I think the craftsmanship of this purple clay teapot is quite good. I'll take this purple clay teapot."
Xue Changrong panicked completely and quickly said, "This, this is just a replica Pumpkin Pot, it's not worth much. If you don't like anything here, I'll have my staff take you to our warehouse. There are many treasures there."
Chen Fan once again examined the pumpkin pot in his hand.
Seeing this, Xue Changrong was terrified because he truly feared that Chen Fan might drop the pumpkin pot and smash it.
Chen Fan saw Xue Changrong's nervous expression and a curve appeared on his lips. Now he was even more certain that this pumpkin pot was the genuine article!
Chen Fan said calmly, "How can I take such a valuable item from your shop? If word got out, wouldn't it be said that I was taking advantage of the situation? Never mind, I'll take this purple clay teapot. Since it's a replica, Boss Xue can just buy another one."
Xue Changrong was on the verge of tears. He thought, isn't this taking advantage of the situation! This Pumpkin Pot was worth over a hundred million yuan!
He had spent half his life's savings to buy it from a wealthy merchant.
"Boss Xue, look how considerate this young man is. Since it's a replica, just give it to him."
"Yes, he doesn't want you to suffer too much of a loss. It's rare to find such a young man who doesn't like to take advantage of others."
"If you can't, just give it to him, Boss Xue. How much can a purple clay teapot be worth?" Da Feng Novel Network
The surrounding crowd also quickly advised, continuously praising Chen Fan.
Hearing the voices around him, Xue Changrong's face turned green!